Former Louisville Players File Suit Against NCAA Over Vacated Wins

In February, the NCAA upheld a ruling ordering the school to vacate its 2013 championship amid an escort scandal.

Former University of Louisville basketball players have filed a lawsuit against the NCAA, regarding the school being forced to vacate wins.

In February, the NCAA upheld a ruling on the basketball program, ordering the school to vacate its 2013 championship amid an escort scandal.

The ruling came amid an NCAA investigation into claims that escort Katina Powell made involving former Louisville player, graduate assistant coach and director of basketball operations Andre McGee. Powell says McGee paid her and other escorts thousands of dollars.

Powell also says that she received game tickets for five seasons in exchange for providing sex for recruits and players.

Louisville was ordered to vacate 123 wins in which athletes were ineligible from the 2011–12 through the 2015 academic years.

Those wins include a 2012 Final Four appearance and the 2013 national title. It is the first time in Division I men's basketball history that a championship has been vacated.

Several former Cardinals players are plaintiffs in the suit including Luke Hancock and Gorgui Dieng.

Louisville-NCAA lawsuit plaintiffs: Luke Hancock, Gorgui Dieng, Mike Marra, Stephan Van Treese, Tim Henderson.

— Eric Crawford (@ericcrawford) July 11, 2018

Hancock was named the Final Four Most Outstanding Player in 2013, the first bench player ever to win the award.

In a press conference, Hancock and attorney John Morgan called out the NCAA for inconsistent practices and over-stepping its boundaries.

Attorney John Morgan: “Our firm is used to taking on giants. ... What the NCAA is good at doing is exploiting young men for big money.” pic.twitter.com/m6MP7lJfdd

— Eric Crawford (@ericcrawford) July 11, 2018

Hancock and Morgan are reiterating that they believe NCAA rules are "corrupt" and wrong. Says the NCAA had no authority to investigate the escort scandal, which involved a crime, to begin with.

— Danielle Lerner (@danielle_lerner) July 11, 2018

Morgan: “They’re going to do it (reinstate Louisville’s title). By God, they’re going to do it if we have to drag them down here by the hair.”

— Eric Crawford (@ericcrawford) July 11, 2018

The NCAA also ordered Louisville to return all revenue they earned for appearing in the 2012–15 NCAA tournaments.